Feature: Advisor Profile

Making money and making a difference

Matthew Martin speaks to Rodger Spiller about being a forerunner of SRI education in New Zealand and his recent Mindful Money Award recognition.

After just a few minutes of speaking to Rodger Spiller, you know you have come across a person whose brain is bursting with knowledge – so much so it’s hard to keep up.

Softly spoken, modest, and intelligent Dr Rodger Spiller has been at the forefront of ethical and responsible investment for about 35 years – not just in New Zealand, but around the world.

I say modest because I want to talk to him about his latest award (he’s had more than a few bouquets over the years) at the recent Mindful Money Awards where he was named the Best Ethical Financial Adviser 2021.

“I’m extremely honoured,” he says. “I’m deeply grateful for the recognition of our work at Money Matters and thankful to the judges for their vote of confidence.”

And that's about it, with the conversation quickly turning to how important the awards themselves are to an industry that’s changing from a twodimensional risk and reward system to a three-dimensional approach that factors in the impacts of investment.

I’m encouraged by the increasing number of ethical advisers in the field and the high number of entries to the awards

“Rodger Spiller’s entry stood out for his strong research and thought leadership over many years,” the award judges said.

“His approach is flexible and thorough to meet clients’ needs and aspirations.”

Spiller says the award highlights the importance of advice, and the positive impact of expert guidance that empowers clients to make money and make a difference – to themselves, their finances and the world.

“I’m encouraged by the increasing number of ethical advisers in the field and the high number of entries to the awards,” he says.

“My hope is that we will keep building the ethical investment advice profession together.”

He says ethical investment is not just a “feel good” approach but one that could save the world – literally.

“If we’re going to survive as a species we need to accelerate the move towards authentic ethical investment.

“All investment has an impact, either positive or negative. It’s clear that traditional investment and ‘business as usual’ needs to transform in order to make the positive impact required.

“What you do with your money really does matter,” he says.

It was in his teenage years when Spiller says he wanted to make a positive impact on the world around him. And by age 13 he had figured out that money and business has a major influence on the way the world works – for better or often worse.

“To me, having a positive impact on the world through encouraging good business was a logical strategy so I decided to study accounting and economics and learn the language of money.”

He says while he was studying in the ‘70s the world was starting to change and New Zealand’s earliest ethical investors were beginning to emerge and were vocally responding to Nelson Mandela’s calls to divest from South Africa.

“I found myself inspired by these pioneers and chose to focus my career on this new field.”

Spiller completed his Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1983, winning the senior prize for a project on accounting for corporate responsibility, and qualified as a Chartered Accountant.

In 1988 he joined the Institute of Property Advisors and Consultants (IPAC) and took a leading role in providing research, training advisers and raising the quality and quantity of funds and advisers.

As part of his role as executive director for IPAC (NZ), he initiated the first managed funds awards and created the syllabus and examinations for the financial planning industry association.

In 1990, Spiller started his investment advisory firm Money Matters and was regularly featured as a financial adviser in the TV One series Money Doctor, on its Breakfast programme and as a financial columnist.

Subsequently, he helped introduce New Zealand to the CFP qualification.

He continued his ethical investment and business studies while also working in the financial advice industry and completed a Master of Commerce (first class) in 1990, and a PhD in 1999 – also winning the inaugural Good Returns Financial Planner of the Year Award in the same year.

One could say he wrote the book about financial planning after publishing The Essential Guide to Financial Planning in New Zealand, in 2000.

“Then, in 2002, as the official representative of New Zealand business at the World Summit for Sustainable Development, I found myself sitting just metres away from Nelson Mandela.

“That was the moment I knew I’d come full circle.”

Fast-forward to 2016, and the media scrutiny around KiwiSaver changed things fundamentally.

In a September 2016 Sunday Star Times article titled “Rewarding Responsibility”, Martin Hawes explained how about 20 years ago he started to take an interest in “socially responsible investment (SRI)”.

He generously acknowledged the pioneers in promoting this idea – “especially Dr Rodger Spiller, who at times was almost a lone voice”.

To use Hawes’ words, in 2016, “Suddenly and quite spectacularly, the zeitgeist has changed, cluster bombs and tobacco are widely discussed and SRI has become important.”

Since then, more and more New Zealanders have awakened to the realities of their current investments and decided to invest more consciously in ethical investment funds.

Fund managers and advisers have responded to this demand, so it’s not all doom and gloom.

He says ethics is at the heart of professionalism and everyone in the industry should be trying to raise the bar.

“A starting point could be to ‘do no harm’ or ‘minimise my negative impact’ of investment – but a lot of people do ignore it.

“Unfortunately, there’s quite some way to go, especially around awareness and education.”

He says in the early days, the industry had very little interest in ethical investment.

“Most advisers and fund managers would roll their eyes and dismiss it but over time there has been increasing investor demand and willingness from fund managers to supply funds.”

He says financial advisers should always be asking their clients how they want to reduce their investment impacts – awareness and education is a good place to start.

“In terms of delivering on that, we need quality advice that puts this forward as a way people can make money and make a difference ... but it is a critical journey ahead.”

Dr Rodger Spiller – career highlights

• Serving as a director and chairman of the Association of Investment Advisers and Financial Planners (IAFP), the national professional association of advisers.

• Representing New Zealand at the World Financial Planning Forum.

• Bringing the Ethical Investment Association Australasia (now the Responsible Investment Association Australasia – RIAA) to New Zealand and being a director for over 10 years.

• Being New Zealand's first financial adviser to receive the Ethical Investment Certification symbol.

• A founding member and executive director of NZ Businesses for Social Responsibility (now the Sustainable Business Network).

• Executive director of the NZ Business Council for Sustainable Development (now the Sustainable Business Council).

• Representing New Zealand business at the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002.

• Former member of the Securities Commission (now the Financial Markets Authority).

• Serving on the Nominating Committee for the Guardians of the New Zealand Superannuation Fund.

• Director of Oxfam (NZ).

• Founding director of Transparency International (NZ).

• Member of the technical working group for the Sustainable Finance Forum.